Patience is a virtue.

And it's a struggle for tomato enthusiasts. It just seems so long from transplanting tomato plants before the first ripe, sun-warmed fruit can be harvested and eaten out of hand or sliced atop a classic BLT or grilled burger.

Tomatoes taste like summer and sunshine, especially when grown in the home garden. Ripening on the vine enhances the pure flavor sensation that tomato lovers crave from the instant the plants are popped in the good earth.

Long before those salad days arrive, gardeners are preoccupied with one thought: Growing a good - no - great tomato. Nothing sounds sweeter to a gardener's ears than the words spoken by an admiring family member or neighbor, "That's a beaut!"

Over the years, I've gathered secrets for growing great tomatoes from sources ranging from the editor of Organic Gardening magazine to Iowa State University Extension, farmers' marketers and backyard gardeners.

It's such an all-consuming subject, I've decided to divide the subject. First, the "tell-all" - sharing the secrets for getting started on tomato-growing success.

Next week, I'll cover staking, and finally, a third column will describe how to prevent/discourage tomato diseases and pests.

Selecting a tomato variety is a personal choice. Some gardeners prefer tried-and-true varieties, while other gardeners are risk-takers, willing to try anything new. F1 "Country Taste" is a new one offered by Park Seed, and is described as having "all the flavor of an heirloom with the hassle-free growth of a hybrid." The fruit is large, ribbed and dark red and weigh about 1 pound. Indeterminate plants need staking and tomatoes should be ready to harvest in 90 days.

F1 "Royesta" is a European-type tomato with green shoulders and old-fashioned tomato flavor. Fruits weigh up to 6 to 8 ounces and production begins in about 68 days. Plants reach 3 to 4 feet tall. F1 "Solid Gold" is a golden, sweet grape tomato. Plants are indeterminate and yield is high. Harvest can be expected about 90 days after transplant. Both of these varieties are being sold through retail seed catalogs.

Summer weather is variable, and impacts tomato production.

Getting started

1. Let the sun shine. Tomatoes need 8 to 10 hours of sun daily. Container grown tomatoes should be in the sun, too, or moved around on the patio to follow the sun.

2. Elbow room. Space plants to allow good air circulation - a longer distance than suggested on the label, if possible. This will help reduce fungal disease problems.

3. Rotate crops. Soil-borne diseases are carried over from year to year and can infect tomatoes and other plants in the nightshade family, including potatoes, peppers and eggplants.

4. Choose sturdy, short and thick-stemmed transplants. Pluck off flowers when planting. Avoid leggy and potbound plants.

5. Location should be well-draining. Loosen soil with organic matter or compost. For container tomatoes, start with fresh soil and a clean pot (scrubbed with diluted bleach water).

6. Dig a hole and bury the stem up to the first set of leaves. This encourages root growth.

Trenching is another planting method favored for short growing seasons. Dig a shallow, long hole and lay the plant horizontally into the trench. Pinch leaves off of the stem; allow the top two to three inches of stem to show out of the trench. Cover trench with soil and push a little soil under the top stem. The stem will grow toward the sun. The stem should begin to develop roots.

7. Pinch off suckers if you like, just don't pinch determinate varieties.

8. Keep plants moist for the first two weeks for good root growth, then begin watering deeply but infrequently. (Check containers and expect to water more frequently.) Don't water in the heat of the day. Leaves curl up to reduce moisture loss in the heat of the day and can't absorb water. When leaves are wilting water can't be absorbed by the leaves.

Give once-a-week deep watering of at least 1-inch per week. A sign of underwatering is if leaves remain curled after the sun goes down. If it rains 1 inch or more, you shouldn't have to water.

9. Stake plants. (More on this next week.)

10. Fertilize every other week as plants grow. Stop fertilizing when fruit sets to prevent watery fruit and lush growth with little yield. Plant Nutrition